“Soooo… Did you see iguanas at the feria today?” you may ask…

 

Oh! My!! Gosh!!!

 

I saw just about every color iguana known to nature, I think. They were hanging out in the freaking feria parking lot because the fruit and vegetable vendors feed them their scraps.

 

I lost my mind. I spent at least twenty minutes just taking pictures and videos of them. The videos are on my Facebook page. I’m only sharing the best images here in this post, I think…

 

I was gobsmacked. Captivated. Lost track of time.  Connected with Jon, Francisco and Dale later than we planned because  of it. (God bless understanding friends!) Clarkie didn’t join us this week because he had a final to get wrapped up and sent in for peer review. Good for him for the discipline, but we missed him!

 

I was almost completely shopped out at the feria before I connected with the gang. I had my Winco hot and cold bolsa (bag) along and filled it to the brim with groceries (and mid-calf socks for me!) and for the mariposas (butterflies) that I want to attract with citrus fruit and fruit peels. I bought them an orange and a papaya, because Jon tells me those appear to be their favorites at their place.  I will eat most of the papaya though because it’ll go bad before the mariposas could ever get through it all. (My driver laughed, tickled, when I told her I shopped for the mariposas!)

 

During our shopping adventure I reconnected with my driver (who also planned to shop there this morning) and introduced her to Jon, who introduced her to Francisco and Dale. She and Jon chatted a little and then I asked him to ask her in Spanish if she’d be available to fetch me later; she said she would and then said something I understood in Spanish: “Have Kris called me a half hour before he wants to be picked up”. I translated that to English, letting Jon know I understood.  He said he’s impressed that I’ve advanced as much as I have in less than a month.  I told him I have very little else to keep me occupied most days, so I focus part of every day on getting better with the “idioma” here in Costa Rica!

 

After we did our thing at the feria (Francisco picked me five pieces of plantains in various degrees of ripeness so I’d be able to have them every day for the next five or six days, since I had zero idea how to do that — but I do now!!!) Jon drove us to Mas Q Sabor for lunch. I ordered the pollo (chicken) taco salad this time.  It was delicious.

 

After that, they walked me to a store where I was able to buy a travel cart and a larger umbrella, both of which will come in handy every single time I go out from now on. I also bought a wee pre-birthday gift for Clarkie since he wasn’t there to see me do it. But I asked Dale to go ahead and give it to him right away because anything that “smile-bringing” needs to be enjoyed sooner rather than later. (I’m terrible about waiting to give people gifts. It drives me nuts. I want them smiling asap, every time!)

 

 

After my CR family departed, I walked to the big combo mall place again and got Charli some more canned and packaged food. I also got a couple of jingle bell toys to tape to the inside and outside of the screen door so Charli can signal me by ringing them when she wants to go out or come in. She will figure it out immediately, I’m sure. Then I went to Mondo Magico and asked if they had a butter  dish. They did so I snagged that. (I’ve had the butter in a super well-washed soap dish up until now, but it’s too short for the sticks of butter that Costa Rica sells.)

 

Loaded down with a bunch of stuff, I walked to Cafe Delicias and called my driver to let her know I was ready to be picked up any time she could get to me.  She said it would be 20 minutes so I bought a Coke and some coconut balls. (The coconut balls were to share with my driver when she got there.)

 

When she arrived and saw me with what looked like a heckuva lot more stuff than I had ridden in with — a sizeable cart and adult sized umbrella in addition to the original Winco bag — she laughed and greeted me with, “Turista!”

 

I said, “No!  No turista!” and laughed back. But yes, I looked like a freakin’ turista, I’m sure!

 

We got back to my casita ten seconds before the sky opened up to deliver torrents of rain.  I got inside without needing to use my new umbrella, but only by the skin of my teeth.  A few drops hit me on the way up the casita steps.

 

Home free and still dry!

 

I called to Charli as I unlocked the door to the casita. She came out to see if she could go back outside now that I was home, but a thunderclap and the by then heavy rain changed her mind and she retreated back to the dry safety of our home.

 

One smart kitty! I raised her right, for sure. She at least knows enough to come in out of the rain!